Sharon McCusker won the GP CDI yesterday. I couldn't be more thrilled for her! The boys were Reserve Champion and Third place in the NEDA Sweepstakes. The weather cleared, and today was just beautiful and sunny. I sat up at the competitors party watching the freestyles and talking with a Judge/rider friend, who I really enjoy listening too.
We watched the GP special. It was fun sharing thoughts with her about the ride. We spoke about our horses, our clients, our friends in Germany. Daniela Legriffon (I hope I spelled it right), and the lovely black stallion, Abrikos, won the Special. Abrikos was a little spooky and scooty looking today, but she made the best of it, and had some very nice moments as well.
Watching another competitor, our chatter turned to training stuff. And we some how got on the topic about following your program, and how to incorporate new stuff into it. Some people just bounce from clinic to clinic. But there's no program. One gal was telling us how she went to a clinic a week before the show, and completely tried to change her program then! I made a similar change in Shorty's program, but that was back in November. And it took him until February until he was happy with it! And even now he's getting better in his new program, but a week?
I think it's always so important to remember in dressage training, that it's not just about the communication between the horse and rider, but it's about the development of the horses strength and muscles as well. And depending on the horses natural ability and conformation, sometimes it's a little longer than we'd like. But you have to stick with your program for a while to reap the benefits, and changing things around the week before a show might not be the best idea!
So the rooms packed and ready to roll tomorrow. Shorty trained just super today. I'm hoping to pull it together for a nice finish. And should it not be the stellar ride I'm truly hoping for...there's always Devon!
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